United States President Donald Trump has urged Latin American nations to use military force against the “cancer” of drug cartels and offered U.S. missile support to target narco kingpins.
Speaking at his Doral golf club near Miami, Trump laid out a muscular vision for advancing U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. He described communist-led Cuba as “in its last moments of life” and called for tough action by allies against organized crime blighting the region.
Trump formally launched a 17-nation “counter-cartel” coalition, which the White House described as a pledge from governments in the region to use “hard power” against security threats.
“We’re working with you to do whatever we have to do. We’ll use missiles. You want us to use a missile? They’re extremely accurate,” Trump said during the event on Saturday.
“‘Piu,’ right into the living room. That’s the end of that cartel person. But we’ll do whatever you need,” the American president added.
The summit, called “Shield of the Americas,” included leaders from Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Chile.
Notable attendees included Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, whose security policies are seen as a regional model.
Trump encouraged regional leaders to use military force against criminal organizations, which he likened to a cancer.
“We don’t want it spreading. The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries. We have to use our military.”
He also doubled down on warnings toward Cuba, whose officials were not invited to the gathering.
“I’ll take care of Cuba. They have no money, they have no oil. They have a bad philosophy, they have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time. Cuba’s in its last moments of life,” Trump said.
The announcement comes shortly after Trump, along with Israel, launched strikes against Iran, sparking regional tensions and disrupting global energy and transport sectors.
Earlier this week, the U.S. and Ecuador announced joint operations to combat drug trafficking, which has turned Ecuador from one of the region’s safest countries into one of its deadliest in recent years. Video released by the U.S. military and President Noboa showed a house exploding in a forested area of Ecuador, described as a successful blow against “narcoterrorists.”
